Scan barcode
libraryvee's review
3.0
Guardians of the Haunted Moor opens with Gid and Lee happily ensconced in family life with their new baby daughter Tamsyn, and their home in the village of Dark is as comfy and cozy as anyone could wish. This bliss doesn’t last long when disruption arrives in two terrifying and different ways.
Their new, beloved roles as fathers to Tamsyn are threatened, and a murder case that has eerie echoes of the Beast of the Moor takes up not only Gideon’s time, but Lee’s as well.
I had a hard time keeping my focus on this one, and it ended up being a mixed bag for me. After a rather grim beginning, the case itself feels surprisingly flat, and the urgency to solve it is lost among the never ending line of assorted villagers parading through the narrative. There were so many characters in this one: the Bow farmers along with their younger brother Clem, the elderly Granny Ragwen and her daughter, local troubled youth Das, a corporate lawyer and his assistant, Gideon’s superintendent Susan Lawrence, and new police team member Pendower. Not to mention Gideon and Lee’s rotating kitchen table of extended family members and friends. Was it to create a long list of red herring suspects? I do love the familiar faces, and after all, what’s an English Mystery without its Quirky Small Town Cast? It did get a bit comical, though: it almost felt as if every single character ever mentioned had to make an appearance.
Alongside the many faces were the many elements. We've got two main plot lines, the introduction of new characters, small town traditions and prejudices to keep track of, and even a political angle.
Through this meandering story are Gideon and Lee, whose relationship is as strong as ever, although there was a moment that they share in the first half that I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at. Usually Harper Fox manages to keep things just this side of believable, but this book had a few details that definitely stretched the limits of plausibility.
The resolution, when it comes, felt sudden and strangely incomplete. Not only was it missing details, but it was all mentioned as sort of a vague afterthought. I had quite a few remaining questions. Even the other issue that was introduced at the beginning is tied up a bit abruptly and neatly.
Fox’s writing still shines subtly, and I continue to admire the ease with which she uses metaphorical description. It’s lovely and effective and not overdone. The Cornish folklore and small town setting continue to enchant and educate me; it’s atmospheric and provides a unique aspect to this series that I look forward to. I still love Gideon and Lee, and their love for each other remains the heart of each story. I’ll follow them anywhere, through whatever happens next. Onto the next mystery that will shake the sleepy town of Dark!
Their new, beloved roles as fathers to Tamsyn are threatened, and a murder case that has eerie echoes of the Beast of the Moor takes up not only Gideon’s time, but Lee’s as well.
I had a hard time keeping my focus on this one, and it ended up being a mixed bag for me. After a rather grim beginning, the case itself feels surprisingly flat, and the urgency to solve it is lost among the never ending line of assorted villagers parading through the narrative. There were so many characters in this one: the Bow farmers along with their younger brother Clem, the elderly Granny Ragwen and her daughter, local troubled youth Das, a corporate lawyer and his assistant, Gideon’s superintendent Susan Lawrence, and new police team member Pendower. Not to mention Gideon and Lee’s rotating kitchen table of extended family members and friends. Was it to create a long list of red herring suspects? I do love the familiar faces, and after all, what’s an English Mystery without its Quirky Small Town Cast? It did get a bit comical, though: it almost felt as if every single character ever mentioned had to make an appearance.
Alongside the many faces were the many elements. We've got two main plot lines, the introduction of new characters, small town traditions and prejudices to keep track of, and even a political angle.
Through this meandering story are Gideon and Lee, whose relationship is as strong as ever, although there was a moment that they share in the first half that I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at. Usually Harper Fox manages to keep things just this side of believable, but this book had a few details that definitely stretched the limits of plausibility.
The resolution, when it comes, felt sudden and strangely incomplete. Not only was it missing details, but it was all mentioned as sort of a vague afterthought. I had quite a few remaining questions. Even the other issue that was introduced at the beginning is tied up a bit abruptly and neatly.
Fox’s writing still shines subtly, and I continue to admire the ease with which she uses metaphorical description. It’s lovely and effective and not overdone. The Cornish folklore and small town setting continue to enchant and educate me; it’s atmospheric and provides a unique aspect to this series that I look forward to. I still love Gideon and Lee, and their love for each other remains the heart of each story. I’ll follow them anywhere, through whatever happens next. Onto the next mystery that will shake the sleepy town of Dark!
glens's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
arickman's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a good job. I really enjoy this stories.
kaje_harper's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoy this series. Gideon and Lee are wonderful characters, great together, human and fallible, and yet honest and palpably in love. In this instalment, they see the birth of Lee's sister's child, whom they have promised to adopt and raise. But things don't work out as smoothly as planned. And the savage murder of a local farmer, in the middle of the most stressful time of their lives, strains everything.
The paranormal in this one was atmospheric, but a little harder to pin down. Maybe that was just me and a failure to follow the hints and descriptions, but I'd have docked a star for that. Except that the relationship between the two men is so palpably real, so sweet and warm and painful and necessary, that it deserves all the stars. Through pain and fear and pleasure and joy, these two are a couple that nothing can shake now. But watching them live their complicated life is a total heart-catching fascination.
Read this series from the beginning - you must see the two men evolve separately and together, to the point they reach in this book. Very much worth the time of any lover of paranormal contemporary M/M and mystery.
The paranormal in this one was atmospheric, but a little harder to pin down. Maybe that was just me and a failure to follow the hints and descriptions, but I'd have docked a star for that. Except that the relationship between the two men is so palpably real, so sweet and warm and painful and necessary, that it deserves all the stars. Through pain and fear and pleasure and joy, these two are a couple that nothing can shake now. But watching them live their complicated life is a total heart-catching fascination.
Read this series from the beginning - you must see the two men evolve separately and together, to the point they reach in this book. Very much worth the time of any lover of paranormal contemporary M/M and mystery.
vanoralawless's review against another edition
5.0
This one ripped my heart completely out before putting it back together. Between the angst & the mystery Guardians of the Haunted Moor kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Brilliant story.
paladinboy's review against another edition
4.0
The spooky, weird bollocks gets turned up to 11 with brutal murders and explosions. Great series.
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
5.0
There’s nothing quite like the feeling I get when I finally catch up with a beloved series and its characters. It took me way too long to discover this book existed, but hallelujah, I’m so glad I finally went looking for it, and I say this with all the giddy excitement of a devoted fangirl—Guardians of the Haunted Moor might very well be my favorite installment yet in the Tyack & Frayne series, and that’s saying something since I’ve loved every single last one of these books so far.
Lee Tyack and Gideon Frayne are married now, and still living in Dark, their little town on the moors of Cornwall, where Gid has been promoted to police sergeant, and takes his responsibility of serving and protecting his village, and its colorful collection of residents, seriously. The local lore and legends of Dark and the moors is woven beautifully into the murder mystery in this short novel. But what makes this book what it is—gorgeous and romantic, which seems par for the course for this author—is Gid and Lee’s relationship, and the extension of the love they share with their new daughter, the little girl who is then taken from them, which cut them to the quick but never once compromised the strength of their love for each other. Communication is the key, as always, a lesson learned for this couple.
Lee is a powerful medium who works as a consultant for the police when he isn’t scripting and filming his reality television show, Spirits of Cornwall. When a local man is brutally murdered, there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the crime, and even fewer clues. Is it the Beast of Bodmin returned to terrorize the village? Or worse, is there a human monster in their midst? On top of the terrible pain of losing little Tamsyn Elizabeth to her birth mother—who also happens to be Lee’s sister—he and Gideon face the growing realization that someone is threatening not only the Bowe family but their ancient moors too.
Filled with the feast that is foreshadowing and legend, and offering a brilliant mix of whimsy, tragedy, danger and suspense, I must say the overriding thread in the whole cloth of Guardians of the Haunted Moor, and the series too, is still the romance. There is never a moment where Gideon and Lee aren’t there for each other, never a doubt that their love is enduring and all-encompassing. They are, in figurative and what appears to be literal ways, half of each other’s souls, and Fox’s gift for telling a story such as this is her captivating imagination and evocative prose. These are not only people who could exist but whom you wish truly did take up space somewhere in the Cornish countryside. I just adore them in absolute and unshakable ways.
The solving of the murders themselves is fraught with tension and imbued with a mysticism unique to the setting. The resolution of the Tyack-Frayne familial turmoil is the sweetness that soothes some of the bitter sting of Lee and Gid losing their daughter for a time—somewhat of a mixed blessing when viewing it in hindsight.
If you haven’t been keeping up with this series, now is the time to get back to it. If you haven’t yet started the Tyack & Frayne books, and you love a good mystery steeped in local lore and Druid ritual, I can’t recommend these books highly enough. Start with Once Upon a Haunted Moor and work your way forward. These books aren’t meant to be standalones or read out of order, which isn’t a hardship; they’re all just so, so lovely.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
Lee Tyack and Gideon Frayne are married now, and still living in Dark, their little town on the moors of Cornwall, where Gid has been promoted to police sergeant, and takes his responsibility of serving and protecting his village, and its colorful collection of residents, seriously. The local lore and legends of Dark and the moors is woven beautifully into the murder mystery in this short novel. But what makes this book what it is—gorgeous and romantic, which seems par for the course for this author—is Gid and Lee’s relationship, and the extension of the love they share with their new daughter, the little girl who is then taken from them, which cut them to the quick but never once compromised the strength of their love for each other. Communication is the key, as always, a lesson learned for this couple.
Lee is a powerful medium who works as a consultant for the police when he isn’t scripting and filming his reality television show, Spirits of Cornwall. When a local man is brutally murdered, there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the crime, and even fewer clues. Is it the Beast of Bodmin returned to terrorize the village? Or worse, is there a human monster in their midst? On top of the terrible pain of losing little Tamsyn Elizabeth to her birth mother—who also happens to be Lee’s sister—he and Gideon face the growing realization that someone is threatening not only the Bowe family but their ancient moors too.
Filled with the feast that is foreshadowing and legend, and offering a brilliant mix of whimsy, tragedy, danger and suspense, I must say the overriding thread in the whole cloth of Guardians of the Haunted Moor, and the series too, is still the romance. There is never a moment where Gideon and Lee aren’t there for each other, never a doubt that their love is enduring and all-encompassing. They are, in figurative and what appears to be literal ways, half of each other’s souls, and Fox’s gift for telling a story such as this is her captivating imagination and evocative prose. These are not only people who could exist but whom you wish truly did take up space somewhere in the Cornish countryside. I just adore them in absolute and unshakable ways.
The solving of the murders themselves is fraught with tension and imbued with a mysticism unique to the setting. The resolution of the Tyack-Frayne familial turmoil is the sweetness that soothes some of the bitter sting of Lee and Gid losing their daughter for a time—somewhat of a mixed blessing when viewing it in hindsight.
If you haven’t been keeping up with this series, now is the time to get back to it. If you haven’t yet started the Tyack & Frayne books, and you love a good mystery steeped in local lore and Druid ritual, I can’t recommend these books highly enough. Start with Once Upon a Haunted Moor and work your way forward. These books aren’t meant to be standalones or read out of order, which isn’t a hardship; they’re all just so, so lovely.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
jce's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
4.5
I had some complicated feelings about Ellowen here, and was uncomfortable with the idea that a mother is meant to feel a certain way about her baby.
Still loved it otherwise though. I’m going to be bereft when I finish the last audiobook in this series.
Still loved it otherwise though. I’m going to be bereft when I finish the last audiobook in this series.
ifihadatail7's review against another edition
5.0
this is one of my all time favorite series.
Harper has an eloquent & graceful turn of phrase.
Harper has an eloquent & graceful turn of phrase.